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the BEATEN PATH in OKLAHOMA
TREE HOUSE TAVERN SHARES THEIR STORY by ALANA OWEN
Years ago, my newly formed partner and I decided we wanted out of the crazy state of California’s disarray in search of a better life. We started planning trips to other states, and a family member suggested Oklahoma. I knew very little about the state except what I saw while driving through or flying over. My (now) husband was agreeable so we booked a ticket to Oklahoma City. We were immediately pleased by how simple it was to rent a car at the Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers International Airport. More smiles came as we saw how quickly we could be outside the big city and have countryside all around us. Before setting out, I purchased the book Off the Beaten Path in Oklahoma. Our first night in the state, we stayed over and ate at The Hillbilly Inn, one of the quirky little places the book identified. The decorations in the café and rustic small rooms were quaint and entertaining. Our experience was so pleasant we
12 THE CORRIDOR MAGAZINE / OCTOBER 2021
found ourselves quickly purchasing a small property with the hopes of someday leaving California. However, upon returning to our home state we could think of very little except claiming our stake in Oklahoma at the new 20-acre piece of property with a 1979 mobile home. Looking back, it is amazing to think how the purchase of that book and the quick decision to move impacted my life’s journey. Had we not moved, neither of us would own a ranch and enjoy the lifestyle we always wanted. I would have never known what it was like to sit in my own front yard and sip wine while watching fireflies on a humid summer night. Blackberries and canning became dedicated hobbies, along with food foraging and enjoying my own home-grown pecans. Our daughter would have never met her husband at Oklahoma State University (OSU), and the grandchild we are now expecting would never have come to be.
